Govt extends deadline to submit bids for Air India sale till June 30

The government on Tuesday extended the deadline for submitting bids for buying 100 per cent stake in Air India till June 30.

New Delhi: Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the government on Tuesday extended the deadline for submitting bids for buying 100 per cent stake in Air India till June 30. The deadline was originally set at April 30.

The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) in a notification said “the changes are in view of the requests received from the IBs (interested bidders) and the prevailing situation arising out of COVID-19."

After an unsuccessful attempt to sell Air India in 2018, the government restarted the divestment process of Air India in January, 2020 and invited bid for selling hundred per cent of its equity in the state-owned airline, including Air India's hundred per cent shareholding in AI Express Ltd and 50 per cent in Air India SATS Airport Services Private Ltd.

On February 21, it issued the first set of clarification answering queries regarding the ‘confidentiality undertaking.' Interested bidders for Air India should have a net worth of ₹3,500 crore.

Of the total debt of Rs 60,074 crore as of March 31, 2019, the buyer would be required to absorb Rs 23,286.5 crore, while the rest would be transferred to Air India Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL), the special purpose vehicle.

The cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had recently approved an amendment to the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy to permit FDIs of up to 100% in Air India by NRIs under the automatic route.

The ministerial panel- Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM) is headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and comprises Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.